1. family and parenting
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THE JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE AND LITERACY EDUCATION
Citation
Harper, L. J. (2011). Nursery rhyme knowledge and phonological awareness in preschool
children. The Journal of Language and Literacy Education [Online], 7(1), 65-78.
Nursery Rhyme Knowledge and Phonological Awareness in Preschool
Children
Laurie J. Harper
University of Rhode Island
[email protected]
Phonological awareness is an important precursor in learning to read. This awareness of
phonemes fosters a child’s ability to hear and blend sounds, encode and decode words, and to
spell phonetically. This quantitative study assessed pre-K children’s existing Euro-American
nursery rhyme knowledge and phonological awareness literacy, provided phonological awareness
training with an experimental group of children and investigated the effects of explicit nursery
rhyme instruction on participants’ phonemic skill levels. These data reveal that children exposed
to the intervention consisting of explicit Euro-American nursery rhyme instruction significantly
outperformed the children in the control group on rhyme awareness and completion statement
measures. Results of this research suggest that knowledge of nursery rhymes enhances children’s
phonological awareness and sensitivity to individual phonemes and rhyme, and stimulates
phonemic skill development.
Keywords: phonological awareness, pre-k, kindergarten, and emergent literacy
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Introduction
A growing body of research affirms the link between children’s early language skills and later
reading abilities (Bryant, Maclean, & Bradley, 1990; Bryant, Maclean, Bradley, & Crossland,
1990; Strickland & Shanahan, 2004; Yopp & Yopp, 2000). The critical role of phonological
awareness in the development of learning to read has long been established as a precursor to the
acquisition of the alphabetic principle—the understanding that the letters of the alphabet
represent phonemes in speech (Dickinson & Tabors, 2001). This awareness and understanding
of phonemes fosters a child’s ability to hear sounds, blend sounds, encode and decode words,
and to spell phonetically. One important aspect of literacy preparation is teaching children
phonological awareness. Children entering kindergarten are expected to have an understanding
of the sound-based system of our language, including rhyming skills and beginning letter sounds
(Lonigan, Burgess, & Anthony, 2000; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). Many educators believe
that before children begin reading instruction, they need to become explicitly aware that spoken
words are composed of sounds; children therefore must develop the ability to consciously and
analytically hear, identify, and manipulate those sounds (IRA & NAEYC, 1998; National
Reading Panel, 1990; Sadlier-Oxford, 2000; Yop & Yop, 2002).
Research reveals that there is a link between nursery rhyme knowledge of preschool children and
their future success in reading, writing, and spelling. Bradley and Bryant (1983, 1985) report that
sensitivity to rhyme and alliteration prior to a child’s entry to formal schooling plays a causal
role in their reading success several years later. Furthermore, in their research the authors
reported that receiving explicit instruction and training in the areas of alphabetic principles,
rhyming, identification of words and alliteration strongly and positively affected children’s
reading ability. In a subsequent longitudinal study (MacLean et. al. 1987), authors provided
systematic evidence that knowledge of nursery rhymes played a role in children’s phonological
development. Covering a 15-month period, beginning when children were age 3.4, data was
collected to measure children’s knowledge and growth of five common nursery rhymes.
Findings reported that children’s initial nursery rhyme knowledge was a powerful predictor of
their growing skill in rhyme and alliteration detection tasks over the next year and a quarter.
Bryant and et. al. (1989) reported further longitudinal data from a group of 64 children ranging
from ages 3.4 to 6, covering a three year period supporting the hypotheses that acquaintance with
nursery rhymes positively affects children’s reading ability. Data report a strong relation
between early knowledge of nursery rhymes and success in reading and spelling, despite
differences in social background, intelligence quotient, and beginning phonological skills.
Torgesen (2002) reviewed research-based practices in early reading instruction and found that
phonological awareness is a valid predictor for the identification of children at risk for reading
problems. In a recent study, Vloedgraven and Verhoeven (2007) found that rhyming
performance; and the skills of phoneme identification, blending and segmentation are vital
aspects of phonological awareness. These authors also revealed that the most informative, yet
most difficult and discriminating task of children’s phonological awareness ability is phoneme
segmentation, while rhyming performance appears to be the easiest.
Additional research which investigates the relationship between a child’s nursery rhyme
knowledge and their levels of phonological awareness skills is needed. This paper reports an
investigation of the relationship between knowledge of nursery rhymes and phonemic skill
development in 20 three-year old pre-K children. The effect of explicit nursery rhyme
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instruction on children’s phonological awareness and phonemic skill development in nursery
rhyme recall, rhyme identification, and beginning sound awareness was assessed.
Purpose of Study
This quantitative study assessed pre-K children’s existing Euro-American nursery rhyme knowledge
and phonological awareness literacy, provided phonological awareness training with an experimental
group of children and investigated the effects of explicit nursery rhyme instruction on
participants’ phonemic skill levels. Two questions were addressed:
1. How much knowledge of nursery rhymes do pre-K children have, and
2. Does explicit instruction of nursery rhymes combined with kinesthetic and hands-on
activities increase a preschool child’s phonological awareness? More precisely, does it
increase a child’s ability to recall nursery rhymes, identify rhymes, identify beginning
sounds, and become more phonologically aware of the sounds of the English language?
Methods
Participants
Study participants consisted of 20 three-year old pre-K children and their teachers from a lower
middle class inclusive preschool in the Northeastern United States. Of the preschool participants
11 were female and nine were male; 18 were Caucasian, one child was African-American, and
one child was Asian-American. Although all of the children’s primary and native language used
in the home was English, four children were classified with minor disabilities in speech and
language delays. Both teachers were female, Caucasian, and highly experienced with 23 and 17
years teaching experience. The 20 participants in this study were previously assigned to two
separate classrooms during the previous August by school personnel. This inclusive pre-school
setting strives to maintain classroom heterogeneity determined by gender, ability and socioeconomic status. The assignment of a group as experimental or control in this study was
determined randomly (by the flip of a coin). The control group had nine participants and the
experimental group had 11 participants.
Measures
Two measures were administered individually to all study children in the context of their pre-K
classroom at the beginning and end of the study. Measures used to assess participants existing
nursery rhyme knowledge and phonological knowledge included Nursery Rhyme Completion Statements
(Harper, 2008) and a revised Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening for Preschool (PALS Pre-K,
often referred to as pre-K PALS) (University of Virginia, 2004).
Nursery rhyme completion statements. A completion statement tool composed of visual and
auditory cues in PowerPoint format was designed to assess children’s existing knowledge of ten
common nursery rhymes. Nursery rhymes included Humpty Dumpty, Twinkle Twinkle Little
Star, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Jack and Jill, Hey Diddle Diddle, Hickory Dickory Dock, Mary Had a
Little Lamb, Baa-Baa Black Sheep, Little Boy Blue, and Little Miss Muffet. Participants were
shown a series of PowerPoint slides of the ten nursery rhymes listed above and asked if they
knew who the pictures represented (Figure 1). Participants were given two prompts if they were
unable to answer. The child’s answer was recorded as correct given the initial statement, prompt
#1, or prompt # 2. If the child answered correctly, s/he was given one point; if s/he was not able
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to recall the nursery rhyme the child did not receive a point. Additionally, children were asked
where they learned these nursery rhymes. Their responses were recorded along with additional
information concerning their nursery rhyme knowledge and their ability to respond to the
completion statement task.
Phonological awareness literacy screening for preschool (PALS-Pre-K). PALS-Pre-K is a
scientifically-based phonological awareness and literacy screening tool that measures
preschoolers' developing knowledge of important literacy fundamentals. This assessment
reflects skills that are predictive of future reading success and measure young children’s
knowledge of fundamental aspects of phonological awareness and print knowledge. This
assessment tool is valid, reliable, and standardized on very large samples of children (Invernizzi,
Sullivan, Swank & Meier, 2004).
Select segments of the Pre-K-Pals phonological test were revised and administered to all study
children in an individual format using oral assessment procedures to determine a baseline score
of phonological awareness and individual levels of phonemic skill development. Although the
Pre-K-Pals test tasks include: (a) name writing, (b) alphabet recognition and letter sounds, (c)
beginning sound awareness, (d) print and word awareness, (e) rhyme awareness, and (f)
knowledge of nursery rhymes, only the tasks in beginning sound awareness, rhyme awareness,
and knowledge of nursery rhymes were administered to study children since all study
participants were only three years old and had no prior formal school experiences.
Beginning sound awareness. This task required children to detect beginning sounds or
phonemes. Children were asked to listen to a given word (e.g. milk) and asked to repeat it and
state the beginning sound (e.g. mmmmm). This test consisted of two practice trials and then ten
experimental trials. Corrective feedback was given to the child in the two practice trials only.
Rhyme awareness. This rhyme oddity task required children to detect rhyme when given a series
of three words, two of which ended with the vowel-consonant combination (e.g. mop—top).
This test consisted of two practice trials and then ten experimental trials. In each trial the child
was given three words, two of which rhymed while the third did not (e.g. cat, bat, rap). The
child’s task was to state the pair of words that rhymed. Corrective feedback was given to the
child in the two practice trials only.
Nursery rhyme awareness. This test used a cloze format in which the test administrator read a
section of a nursery rhyme and then paused so the child could supply the correct ending word of
the nursery rhyme. For instance, the child was read the stanza, Jack and Jill went up the
____________(hill).
Phonological Awareness Training
Phonological awareness training was conducted with the experimental group of children (N=11).
These children were given explicit instruction on ten nursery rhymes. Instruction focused on
diverse learning styles including visual and auditory, oral language, tactile-kinesthetic and
hands-on activities designed to enhance children’s recall of nursery rhymes (Figure 2). Visual
activities included use of nursery rhyme posters and small books containing rebus cues in select
nursery rhymes. Auditory and oral language activities included hearing, reciting and singing
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nursery rhymes each session. Kinesthetic activities consisted of role play, reader’s theatre and
dramatization of nursery rhymes using props, puppets and simple costumes. Hands on activities
included use of prop boxes, felt pieces and felt boards to prompt recall and retelling of a nursery
rhyme. Sample activities are illustrated in Figure 3. The phonological awareness training was
conducted for 15-20 minutes once per week over a period of ten weeks. Following the
completion of the phonological awareness training the experimental and control groups were
retested using the same completion statement and pre-K PALS measures.
Statistical Tests
The pre- and post-test scores of the experimental and control groups were compared using the
Wilcoxon signed-ranks test to determine if the intervention administered to the experimental
group resulted in scores different from those of the control group. The null hypothesis states that
there would be no difference in pre- and post-test scores between the two groups for each of the
two measures (completion statement and pre-K PALS).
Figure 1: Sample Nursery Rhyme Completion Statement
Do you know who this is?
Prompt # 1: ______________ sat on a
wall and had a great fall.
Prompt # 2 : All the kings horses and all
the kings men couldn’t put
_________________ back again.
Can you tell me about this picture? What
nursery rhyme could it be?
Prompt # 1: The itsy bitsy ________went
up the __________.
Prompt # 2: Down came the ________
and washed the __________ out.
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Figure 2: Nursery Rhyme Curriculum Grid
Nursery Rhyme
Introduced
Humpty Dumpty
Twinkle, Twinkle Little
Star
Itsy, Bitsy Spider
Jack and Jill
Hey Diddle Diddle
Teaching Approach/
Strategy
Tactile-Kinesthetic
Felt Board
Visual & Tactile
Prop Box & Rebus Poster
Visual & Tactile
Craft & Rebus Poster
Tactile -Kinesthetic
Story Board
Visual & Tactile
Prop box & Rebus Poster
Hickory Dickory Dock
Role Play & Drama
Readers’ Theater
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Tactile-Kinesthetic
Craft & Role Play
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Tactile -Kinesthetic
Prop Box
Little Miss Muffet
Tactile-Kinesthetic
Crafts
Little Boy Blue
Role Play & Drama
Readers’ Theater
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Activity Description
Children recite the rhyme placing
felt pieces on the felt board in
sequential order.
Children recite the rhyme using the
rebus poster and prop box items to
aid recall of the lyrics.
Children create a spider from
pompoms and pipe cleaners. Using
a hollow tube children recreate the
spider crawling up the water spout
as they chant the rhyme.
Children sequence the rhyme using
the story board pieces to aid recall.
Children recite the rhyme using the
rebus poster and prop box items to
aid recall of the lyrics.
Children use clock props, a
costume and a mouse puppet to
reenact the mouse running up the
clock as it strikes each hour.
Tracing their hand as a template,
children attach cotton and assemble
a lamb head to create a sheep. Then
children reenact Mary’s lamb
following her to school.
Using prop box items to aid recall
of lyrics, children recite the rhyme.
Children color and assemble
finger-puppets. As they recite the
lyrics, children dramatize the
rhyme.
Children use costumes, props and
movement to dramatize the rhyme.
THE JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE AND LITERACY EDUCATION
Figure 3: Kinesthetic Nursery Rhyme Activities
Prop Box
Flannel/ Story Board
Prop Box
Drama
Readers Theater
Rebus Poster
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Results
Control Group
Completion task. The mean score for the control group completion task pretest was 3.33 (STD
3.536, range 0-9) (Table 1, Figure 4). The mean score for the control group completion task
posttest was 3.89 (STD 3.586; range 0-9) (Table 1, Figure 4). The pre- and post-test completion
task scores for the control group were not significantly different (Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test,
two-tailed, Z=-1.089, P=0.276).
Pre-K PALS. The mean score for the control group pre-K PALS task pretest was 7.00 (STD
8.775, range 0-26) (Table 2, Figure 5). The mean score for the control group pre-K PALS task
posttest was 8.22 (STD 8.657; range 0-27) (Table 2, Figure 5). The pre- and post-test pre-K
PALS scores for the control group were not significantly different (Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test,
two-tailed, Z=-0.768, P=0.443).
Experimental Group
Completion task. The mean score for the experimental group completion task pretest was 5.64
(STD 3.139, range 1-10) (Table 3, Figure 6). The mean score for the experimental group
completion task posttest was 9.45 (STD 0.688; range 8-10) (Table 3, Figure 6). The pre- and
post-test completion task scores for the experimental group were significantly different
(Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, two-tailed, Z=-2.670, P=0.008).
Pre-K PALS. The mean score for the experimental group pre-K PALS task pretest was 11.45
(STD 9.883, range 2-28) (Table 4, Figure 7). The mean score for the experimental group pre-K
PALS task posttest was 16.55 (STD 9.136; range 6-30) (Table 4, Figure 7). The pre-test and
post-test pre-K PALS scores for the experimental group were significantly different (Wilcoxon
Signed Rank Test, two-tailed, Z=-2.943, P=0.003).
Table 1: Control group completion task scores
Test
N
Standard
Deviation
Mean
Minimum
Completion
9
3.33
3.536
Pretest
Completion
9
3.89
3.586
Posttest
Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test two-tailed, Z= -1.089, P=0.276
Maximum
0
9
0
9
Minimum
Maximum
Table 2: Control group Pre-K PALS task scores
Test
N
Standard
Deviation
Mean
Completion
9
7.00
8.775
Pretest
Completion
9
8.22
8.657
Posttest
Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test two-tailed, Z= -0.768, P=0.443
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0
26
0
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Table 3: Experimental group completion task scores
Test
N
Standard
Deviation
Mean
Minimum
Maximum
1
10
8
10
Minimum
Maximum
2
28
6
30
Completion
11
5.64
3.139
Pretest
Completion
11
9.45**
0.688
Posttest
Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test two-tailed, Z= -2.670, P=.008
Table 4. Experimental group Pre-K PALS task scores
Test
N
Standard
Deviation
Mean
Completion
11
11.45
9.883
Pretest
Completion
11
16.55**
9.136
Posttest
Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test two-tailed, Z= -2.943, P=.003
Figure 4: Control Group Completion Statement Scores
Pre-test
Post-test
10
9
8
Total Score
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Child Number
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7
8
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Figure 5: Control Group Pre-K PALS Scores
Pre-test
10
9
8
Total Score
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Child Number
Figure 6: Experimental Group Completion Statement Scores
Pre-test
Post-test
10
9
8
Total Score
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Child Number
74
8
9
10
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Figure 7: Experimental Group Pre-K PALS Scores
Pre-test
Post-test
10
9
8
Total Score
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Child Number
Discussion
Posttest results indicate that the experimental group scored significantly higher after the
phonological awareness training on both the Completion Statement task and on the Pre-K PALS
task. The control group post-test scores increased as well, but not significantly so, on both the
Completion Statement task and the Pre-K PALS task. This increase in scores may have been due to
maturational factors experienced by children over the 10 week investigation period. In pre-test scores, the
control group scored lower than the experimental group; the experimental group initially scored
higher on both the Completion Statement task and on the Pre-K PALS tasks. The differences
between the two groups in the pre-test scores may be due to greater exposure to language and
literacy activities such as reading, singing and word play mediated by families in the home.
Although the experimental group scored significantly higher on the pre-K PALS following the
phonological awareness training, the greatest gains were made in rhyme awareness, and the least
gains in beginning sound awareness. Tasks which involve detection of single phonemes are
usually too difficult for children to complete accurately who have not yet learned to read (Bryant
& Goswarmi, 1987).
This study makes it clear that early knowledge of nursery rhymes helps children to build
awareness of sound patterns of language and plays an important role in a child’s linguistic and
early literacy development. While hearing and reciting nursery rhymes, children are developing
critical early literacy skills. One of the most important skills is phonemic awareness, or the
awareness of individual sounds called phonemes that make up spoken words. Teaching and
reciting nursery rhymes to young children may affect the development of phonological
sensitivity; conditioning children to become more sensitive to phonemes and rhyme. At some
level, a child becomes aware that different words and different syllables have a segment of sound
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or phoneme in common. For example, cat and bat share the common ending rhyme sound at and
therefore rhyme. Children sensitive to rhyme begin to expand this common sound knowledge to
other words in different contexts which eventually contributes to their ability to read, write, and
spell (Bryant et. al, 1989).
Although the results of this study are informative, a few limitations exist. First, the sample size
of study participants was small. A future study in which early nursery rhyme knowledge is
examined with a larger population would be beneficial in understanding how nursery rhyme
knowledge contributes to the development of phonological awareness, sensitivity and skill
development. Second, the measure used to assess children’s existing nursery rhyme knowledge
consisted only of Euro-American nursery rhymes. Other cultures may use different rhymes than
those represented in this study. For example, the completion statement prompts used in the
rhyme Humpty Dumpty are paraphrased and do not appear verbatim to the Euro-American nursery
rhyme. This could be confusing for three year olds who have learned the rhyme in its exact form.
Therefore, cultural and language differences were not taken into account. Third, all of the
children in this study were previously exposed to nursery rhymes either at home or during
preschool. How nursery rhyme knowledge was disseminated to children or shared among
families and how knowledge of nursery rhymes may have influenced children’s performance on
phonological awareness screening tasks was not examined.
Conclusion
Speaking, singing, and reading aloud simulate a child’s understanding and use of spoken and
written language. Some researchers suggest that the roots of phonemic awareness are found in
traditional rhyming and word games (Bryant, Maclean, Bradley & Crossland, 1997). The use of
nursery rhymes with young children promotes positive attitudes toward language learning and
helps children to build awareness of sound patterns of language. Language and literacy
development is facilitated when children have many opportunities to use language in interactions
with adults; to listen and respond to rhymes, chants and stories; and to experiment with the
sounds of language (IRA & NAEYC, 1998; NAEYC 2008).
Nursery rhymes are a socially engaging, playful, and developmentally appropriate way for young
children to hear, identify, manipulate, and experiment with the sounds of language. Integrating
nursery rhymes, jingles and chants, and other traditional literature into the early childhood
curriculum contributes to a linguistically rich environment in which young children are exposed
to the rich vocabulary, syntactic complexity, and decontextualized language contained within the
English language. Combining tactile- kinesthetic activities in which language is intentionally
explored, manipulated, and experimented within the context of nursery rhymes and literature
enhances children’s phonological awareness, sensitivity to rhyme and phonemes, and may
stimulate phonemic skill development. This skill development contributes to the ability to read
and has positive effects on reading and spelling as demonstrated by Bradley and Bryant (1991).
Furthermore, as children develop sensitivity to individual phonemes, build their awareness of
sound patterns of language, and combine phonemes leading them to recognize new words in
written texts, their reading ability improves (Bradley & Bryant, 1985) which may lead to
improved writing and spelling (Strickland & Schickedanz, 2004).
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